290. The WORD of God Diminishes Fear

Judges 6:12 NKJV And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

Judges 6:14 NKJV Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”

Judges 6:16 NKJV And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”

Judges 6:23 NKJVThen the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.”

Judges 7:9 NKJV It happened on the same night that the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand…

In Judges chapter 6, the Lord finds Gideon hiding in a hole. Ok, he was threshing wheat down in a wine press where he could hide from the Midianites and stash the wheat so he wouldn’t get caught. I’m sure most of you know the story of how the Angel of the Lord appears and calls Gideon a mighty man of valor. Even though Gideon is hiding afraid of the Midianites the Lord calls him a man of valor.

Valor means to be courageous or have fearlessness, which Gideon obviously was not. In verse 13 Gideon argues about how fearful, weak, sad, and insignificant that he saw himself and was in man’s standards. But the Angel of the Lord never even acknowledges anything he says and instead continues speaking God’s faith-filled Words and divine reality over him. No matter what response of fear or doubt that Gideon says, the Angel of the Lord keeps speaking GOD’s WORD to Him.

Romans 10:17 tells us that, “…faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” When the Angel of the Lord first encounters Gideon he is horribly terrified, but as the Angel of the Lord kept speaking God’s faith-filled words and confidence in him to him; Gideon’s fear began to diminish. Gideon’s perception of himself began to change. Each time Gideon heard the Lord’s confidence in him and how the Lord saw him, he began to see himself differently.

The Word of God makes all the difference. No matter how you or anybody else sees you, it doesn’t matter. The only opinion that truly matters and is right is the Lord’s. Gideon kept hearing the truth of how the Lord saw him and that truth unlocked the reality of who Gideon was in reality a courageous and fearless man. It took some time, but Gideon’s mind was renewed (Romans 12:2).

Don’t listen to the doubts in your head. Don’t listen to the lies others have said. Don’t be moved when the diagnosis that is read. It’s the WORD that contains reality. “Fear calls out our doubts, God calls out our names.” – Bob Goff